- The average age of patients with malignant Mesothelioma cancer is 60 years.
- Mesothelioma has a latency period of 20 to 50 years after the first exposure to asbestos.
- It is estimated that it will be around 250,000 new cases of Mesothelioma before 2020.
- There are about 2500- 3000 new cases of Mesothelioma each year in the U. S.
- 1 in 3 U. S. Veterans will be diagnosed with an asbestos related Mesothelioma cancer.
- Over 75 percent of Mesothelioma cases are diagnosed in men age 55 or older.
- The average life expectancy for a Mesothelioma cancer diagnosis is 12-18 months.
- More than 700,000 people over the world have filed claims against more than 6,000 asbestos companies.
- During the 20th century, some 30 million tons of asbestos was used in shipyards, industrial sites, schools, homes and commercial buildings in the U. S.
- Mesothelioma is more common in whites (1.1 percent per 1,000) and Hispanics/Latinos than in African Americans (0.5 percent per 1,000) or Asian Americans.
- The Mesothelioma incidence rates in industrialized countries range between 0.5 and 3 cases per million in men and between 0.2 and 2 cases per million in women*
- Mesothelioma cancer is not related specifically to smoking. However, smoking and asbestos together dramatically increase risk.
- 96% of Mesothelioma cases occurs after 20+ years latency period after asbestos exposure
* According to a paper published by the Annals of Oncology.